Employer Branding: The latest fad or the future of HR?

Definetely much more than just a fashion statement

"Tomorrow’s CEO will spend more time on their organisation’s reputation as an employer than with the investment community (and fund managers will worry if they don’t)", quoted Simon Barrow (a great HR Professional).
A major reason why Employer Branding exercises are being conducted in various corporates is due to labor market conditions. Unemployment remains low and even skills shortages continue. Employers are thus obliged to compete more fiercely with one another to recruit and retain effective staff, while also being severely constrained in the extent to which they can pay higher salaries in order to do so. A strong employer brand is being promoted as the key to winning this ‘war for talent’ by establishing organizations’ unique selling point in employment terms. The branded employment product simplifies choice, reassures prospective employees about quality and reduces risk. It also included attempts to recruit, socialize and retain a committed workforce.
Moreover, if we look at the benefits which some of the reputed corporate players gained from employer branding, we can easily arrive at the conclusion
Diageo - Began with an attrition rate of 18%, costing £4 million. In 14 months they reduced attrition rates to 7%, recouping the costs of the initial research 30 times over.
GSK - applied the proposition and guiding principles to their recruitment process, increasing the number of offers accepted from 83% to 96%.
Philips - are now receiving 10 times as many quality applications from graduates and MBAs